Dr. John Bergsma, a close collaborator of Dr. Scott Hahn who speaks regularly on Catholic radio and at conferences and parishes nationally and internationally, will hold a talk on Lent and the Eucharist on Saturday, February 18th in the Community Center. The time, however, is now from 9:45 am to 11:45 am. To register go to https://stjosephofcupertino2.flocknote.com/signup/110921.
The Lunar New Year is the beginning of the lunar calendar. This year, it falls on Sunday, January 22nd. Sunday, February 5th is the day that the Parish will celebrate it. It begins with a Mass at the 11:00 am Mass followed by a lunch reception in the Parish Hall. After having been deprived to celebrate it as a community for two years, the Parish looks forward to the festivity complete with lion dance and a few cultural arts performances.
Dr. John Bergsma is going to give a talk on Lent and on the Eucharist on Saturday, February 18th, from 9:45 am to 11:45 am in the Church. Dr. Bergsma is Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. A former Protestant pastor, Dr. Bergsma entered the Catholic Church in 2001 while getting his Ph.D. in Bible from the University of Notre Dame. A close collaborator of Dr. Scott Hahn, Bergsma speaks regularly on Catholic radio and at conferences and parishes nationally and internationally. He has authored over a dozen books on Scripture and the Catholic faith, including Bible Basics for Catholics (Ave Maria Press), Stunned by Scripture: How the Bible Made Me Catholic (Our Sunday Visitor), and A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: Old Testament (with Brant Pitre; Ignatius Press). Dr. Bergsma’s talks and studies are available on CD and mp3 from catholicproductions.com. He and his wife Dawn reside with their eight children in Steubenville, Ohio.
Christmas Eve Masses on Saturday, December 24th, will be at 4pm, 6pm and 10pm. Christmas Day Masses on Sunday, December 25th, will be at 9:30 am, 11am, and 3pm. There will not be a 5pm Mass on December 25th. The New Year's Eve Mass (which is also the anticipated Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) on Saturday, December 31st, will be at 5pm. The New Year's Day Mass (which is also the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) on Sunday, January 1st, will be at 9:30 am and 11am only. There will not be masses at 3pm and 5pm. Confession on Saturday, December 24th, is cancelled to give way to the Christmas Eve Mass at 4pm.
The Parish will present a Christmas Carols Service on December 24th at 9:30 pm before the Christmas Eve Mass at 10:00 pm. The Service will feature the SJCC Grand Choir; Jackson Beaman, tenor; Katherine Naegele, contralto; and Rick Leder, trumpeter.
Simbang Gabi (or dawn Mass) is a Filipino tradition of nine consecutive Advent novena Masses that lead to Christmas. It begins on Friday, December 16 at 8:30 am and ends on Saturday, December 24th. The Simbang Gabi on Sunday, December 18th, however, coincides with the 9:30 am Mass. Simbang Gabi dates back in 1668 when Spanish missionaries brough the practice from Mexico. It was one of the means for the friars to evangelize the natives. Originally, priests would hold very early predawn masses to accomodate the needs of the fishermen who finished up their work rather late, and farmers who started their work early. Since then, however, the schedules of this predawn Masses have changed. In the parish of St. Joseph of Cupertino, the Simbang Gabi is celebrated not in the evening nor early in the morning; but at the 8:30 am daily Mass.
Experience "An Evening with Pasquale" for a benefit concert for St. Joseph of Cupertino for the improvement of the church's sound system. This will be on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 8:00 pm. Italian tenor, Pasquale Esposito is an international recording and touring artist from Naples, Italy. He will be joined by his acclaimed accompanist Neil MacPherson to perform a colorful repertoire of English songs that showcase Pasquale’s vocal prowess including but not limited to Opera, Pop-Opera, American, Italian and Spanish standards. Esposito made his successful debut at San Francisco Opera in 2015 for their world premiere of “Two Women” and since released four PBS Specials nationally. VIP Tickets are available with a pre-concert reception commencing at 6:00 pm including heaving hors d’oeuvres and drinks coupled with premiere reserved tickets. General admission tickets are also available for the concert. Click title for ticket sales. Sponsorhips are available. Please contact Fr. Michael Syjueco at michael.syjueco@dsj.org.
The Young Catholic Professionals Silicon Valley Chapter will hold its Executive Speaker Series on Tuesday, November 1st at 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall. J. P. Brockmann will be the guest speaker. Brockmann has more than fifteen years of US and International experience supporting sales and delivery organizations across the world. He is currently the Vice President of Finance at Snowflake. To register, click on the title of the article. VP Finance at Snowflake. 15+ years of US and International experience supporting Sales and Service Delivery organizations across the world.
The Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) Silicon Valley Chapter celebrates its 6 years of success in building up young adult Catholic community in the Silicon Valley on Sunday, October 23rd at St. Patrick Seminary & University in Menlo Park. The Mass for young adults this Sunday at 3:00 pm is cancelled. Instead, the mass will be celebrated at St. Patrick's Seminary at 2pm. This will be presided by Fr. Anthony Sortino, LC. The gala celebration immediately follows at 3pm. All young adults are invited. For more information and registration visit https://www.ycpsiliconvalley.org/events/ycp-gala-celebration; or simply click the title of this news article.
Several parishioners joined the Marian procession after the 11:00 am Mass on October 16th. The Marian procession was organized by the Diocese's Legion of Mary. In the Catholic faith a procession is a manifestation of the Church as pilgrims who walk with Christ towards the heavenly dwelling. In a Marian procession, the role of Mary in our salvation is recognized. Jesus, who has a special love for her mother, entrusted her mother to His disciples as he hanged upon the Cross. Thus, in a Marian procession the faithful walk as they pray the rosary and meditate on the mysteries of the life of Christ. They sing hymns to Our Lady in a spirit of devotion and celebration. Click the title of the news article for pictures.
Students from Grades 5 - 8 had their Advent retreat last Tuesday, October 11th in the Parish Hall. A group of young people from Net Ministries who came from across the United States and Canada facilitated the retreat. At a time when a vast majority of Catholic youth are disconnecting from the Church during their teenage years, these young people who are committed to developing young disciples provided the retreat to the junior high students including students from Grade 5. The retreat challenged them to deepen their relationship with Christ and embrace the life of the Church. The students went through various fun and exciting experiential activities that allowed them to reflect on their faith and relationship with Christ. The kids went home hyped up!
The Rosary Group of the Parish, under the leadership of Bella Kawashima, held a Fatima Rosary Crusade on Saturday, October 15th at 2:00 pm at the Grotto in the Meditation Garden. The Fatima Rosary Crusade springs from the International Fatima Rosary Crusade (IFRC). It is a Roman Catholic Apostolate formed in 1978 in response to the urgent Message of Our Lady of Fatima to pray for unity and peace in the world. It is a grass-roots association of Catholic priests and laypeople. The founder and International Director is Father Nicholas Gruner, who for two decades has dedicated his life to promoting interest & devotion to Her urgent Fatima message. The Family Rosary Crusade is another Marian activity that fosters devotion to the Blessed Mother and to bring families together to pray the Rosary. Fr. Patrick Peyton, an American priest, known as the Rosary Priest, who tirelessly promoted the powerful prayer of the Rosary, once said: "A FAMILY THAT PRAYS, TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER.” Several parishioners including those from other parishes came to join the activity. Click the title of the news article for pictures.
The Living Rosary which was held last Saturday at 4:15 saw many parishioners from various cultural background gathered in circle forming a human rosary to offer the praying of the Rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each participant was given a candle and a rose and said prayers in his or her own language or dialect. The people responded in English. It was such a moving sight to see people praying the rosary in Chinese, Tagalog, Spanish, Vietnamese, Irish, Italian, Dutch, Indian, Indonesian, and English. Though the first part of the prayers were prayed in various languages, the people in one voice responded in English. It was indeed a show of unity amidst diversity. After the Living Rosary, the participants joined in the Entrance Procession of the 5pm Saturday anticipated Mass to offer their roses to Mother Mary in the Church. Click the title of the news article for some pictures.
October is the month of the Rosary. On Saturday, October 8, at 4:15 pm the Parish will have a Living Rosary at the Grotto in the Meditation Garden. A Living Rosary is a human chain forming the shape of a Rosary. As a prayer in the rosary is recited, the person standing as a bead will light his or her candle. The rosary will be prayed in various languages, but the responses will be in English. Scriptural readings will be proclaimed before each decade is prayed. With the rich diverse culture that the Parish has, the Living Rosary is a way to celebrate its cultural diversity while honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary by way of the Living Rosary. 65 volunteers are needed to fill up the human chain. 5 lectors are likewise needed. Volunteers will have the privilege of having their intentions offered in the Living Rosary. Anyone who wish to volunteer may click this article to sign up.
After many years of inactivity, the parish once again gathered together as a community to celebrate the feast of its Patron Saint, St. Joseph of Cupertino. The Parish is rich in its diversity and parishioners saw the occasion to celebrate its diverse cultures by showcasing various ethnic dishes like Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, Sri-Lankan, Irish, French, and American. It was like an international food festival! There was also live entertainment. Fr. Reynaldo Sarmiento, Associate Pastor of the Church of Ascension; and Fr. Jonathan Cuarto, priest in residence at St Joseph of Cupertino Rectory and chaplain of Valley Medical, wowed the parishioners with their singing voices. Both kids and adults enjoyed the one game of "hep, hep, hurray". Parishioners just wanted to catch up with each other after not experiencing the spirit of community in the Parish for many years due to COVID-19. Indeed, the Parish came alive again. Click the article title for pictures!
The Parish has a new Music Director, Yvonne Casillas. She started last Monday, September 12th. Yvonne is not new to the Parish. She used to be a section leader, cantor, soloist and accompanist at St. Joseph of Cupertino Church for four years. She occasionally helped Dan Morris direct the 11:00 am Mass. Yvonne was a choir director in many churches and schools in California such as St. Simon Church in Los Altos, CA; St. Mark Catholic Church in Venice, CA; and St. Catherine of Alexandria, Temecula, CA. She was a director of the concert choir at St. Augustine Elementary School in Culver City, CA. She is also a private vocal instructor for children and adults. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music in Loyola Marymount University with concentrations in choral conducting and voice. She trained in vocal performance in Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
The Parish will celebrate its Feast Day in honor of its patron saint, St. Joseph of Cupertino, on Sunday, September 18th, at 12 noon in the Parish Hall. Various ethnic dishes will be showcased. Parishioners are encouraged to register in the FlockNote if they are planning to join. This will help determine the number of people who will come and provide enough food for everyone. Register at https://stjosephofcupertino2.flocknote.com/signup/98801
The Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) Silicon Valley will have their free Executive Speaker series on Tuesday, September 6 at 7pm in the Parish Hall. They will also launch BELONG, a whole new way to experience YCP. All Catholic professionals are invited to come to this unforgettable evening. To register please click the YCP banner on the Home Page.
Sofia Kenny, a parishioner of St. Joseph Cupertino, will have her free solo recital on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 4pm at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto. RSVP by June 6. Click the title to register.
The Boy Scouts Troop 476 will have a Mother's Day Pancake Breakfast at Fr. Greg Kimm's Community Center on Sunday, May 8, from 8:30 am to noon. Tickets are at $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for seniors and children.